Page 48 - FoodFocusThailand No.171 June 2020

SMART PRODUCTI
SMART PRODUCTIONON

High-Performance pH Measurement

In Liquid Sugar Production

In developing countries, demand for liquid sugars is growing. For a customer in Brazil, a pH measurement
solution that would tolerate the harsh process conditions was essential. We provided not just a robust,
dependable system, but one that requires very little maintenance.

Growing Demand Cutting-edge Solution
Liquid sugars are produced in a number of different formulations for We installed a system based around the pH sensor . This probe is
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use in the food and beverage, and chemical industries. Premium liquid ideal for this application as it has been designed to function in extreme
sugar is virtually clear sucrose syrup used in the manufacture of a wide environments where quick, accurate pH measurement is required.
range of beverages and food products. Standard liquid sugar is light- Gradual outflow of the pressurized liquid electrolyte ensures fast
yellow sucrose syrup used in the production of cordials and juices. response and long maintenance intervals, while the patented silver-
Liquid sucrose can be used in non-food applications, for example in ion trap prevents electrode poisoning from sulfides.
industrial fermentation processes as a substrate. pH sensor with the technology end-users expect in the
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Production of liquid sugar can be achieved by adding distilled water contemporary environment of devices such as smart phones reduces
to dry sugar, or by processing cane juice. The production process for the maintenance requirement for pH systems by sending diagnostics
liquid sugar from cane juice is simpler to that of dry sugar, and it also data to the transmitter, informing the operator of required maintenance
produces a product of a more uniform quality. before measurement is affected.
However, unlike the extremely long lifetime of dry sugar, liquid sugar
has a shelf life of only a few weeks. The sugar industry in Brazil has Predictive Maintenance
been investing heavily in liquid sugar production to meet increasing The diagnostics information is displayed on the connected transmitter 2
market demand. Our customer, a major sugar refiner in Brazil, as the dynamic lifetime indicator which shows the remaining lifetime
manufactures liquid products purchased mainly by soft drinks of the electrode based on the current process conditions, and adaptive
manufacturers from local producers to multinationals. calibration timer which tells the user when calibration will next be
required. For operational flexibility, the multi-parameter transmitter 2
Tough Conditions also accepts analog sensors.
The refinery’s liquid sugar production process follows the same initial Its retractable design includes a built-in flushing chamber in which
steps to that of dry sugar, namely: juice extraction, filtration, sulfitation the electrode can be cleaned and calibrated when required, without
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and liming. pH measurement during sulfitation and liming is essential process interruption. For exceptional ease of use, the cleaning system
as the pH level in the first stage determines the quantity of sulfur dioxide attached to the housing and transmitter takes care of electrode
that must be added to the juice to prevent discoloration of the liquor. cleaning and calibration, automatically.
The purpose of adding slaked lime is to increase the pH of the acidic The complete system: electrode, housing, transmitter, automatic
sulfated liquor from approx. 3 to 7. The high concentration of sugar in cleaning and calibration system, and ISM technology provide a state-
the juice and the addition of chemical products make it very difficult to of-the-art pH measurement system; giving customer process
measure pH during these processes, as electrodes can become easily confidence and reliability, plus outstanding performance.
coated in precipitates. In order to maximize production uptime, our
customer was looking for a pH measurement system that would endure
the process conditions, without requiring a great deal of maintenance.

48 FOOD FOCUS THAILAND JUN 2020

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